The Clutters

Within seconds of seeing or hearing Nashville, TN’s The Clutters you’ll know that they are a band unconcerned with the fashion of the moment. Between the rusty power chords, walking bass lines, and a hell of a lot of cymbals, you’ll hear squeaky guitar leads and a Farfisa organ to sweeten the sound. It’s too messy for polite company, but too fun to keep to yourself.

The Clutters started playing in 2001 when guitarist/singer Doug Lehmann and bassist Jake Rosswog were introduced to drummer Stephanie Filippini. Jake and Doug have played together in bands since high school the addition of a hard pounding drummer completed the then trio. Their starting points were covers from bands like the Sonics, The Mummies, and The Oblivians . Soon, they were writing originals in the same vein of those songs. The more the band played out, the more their songs grew out of the garage and into a more textured realm while keeping the garage basics. With the addition of Keyboards in 2003, the songs became more melodic. The keyboard hooks immediately jump into your brain and help ease The Clutters’ songs as they careen from riff to riff. Doug’s voice, meanwhile, has grown from a mumbled sneer to an impassioned instrument. He yelps and screams like a young Black Francis, but tempers it with a nasal tone that recalls the collision of rock ‘n’ roll and honkytonk.

Their debut album T&C, released in 2005 on Chicken Ranch Records, has experienced the type of grassroots momentum bands dream of. “I know alot bands concentrate on having their first album reach the widest audience possible to ensure their second album better exposure,” says Doug Lehmann “I think we just tried to concentrate on making the best possible album without thinking about anything else” Not just your average music fans have locked in on T&C, the taste makers have as well. David Fricke of Rolling Stone writes: “The debut blast from this Nashville anomaly, a straight-ahead garage-rock band complete with Farfisa organ, came out [in 2005]. But the Clutters have a loose notion of place and time — with a push and punch (‘Crack Your Heart,’ ‘Oh!’) back-dated to Fifties Memphis and Hamburg’s Star Club in the mid-Sixties … I’ve yet to see the band live, but I damn well know what to expect when I do.”

T&C appeared on numerous year end top ten list and was recommended and passed around so often that even film director Cameron Crowe weighed in: “I just got a CD from someone who said, ‘Trust me, this is going to be your new favorite record.’ And I look at the cover and I know they’re right already.”

Don’t Believe A Word, The Clutters second album will be released nationally on May 1st. (Again on Chicken Ranch Records) This effort, while continuing the garage rock basis of the band, can certainly be described as an expanded version of their sound. Lehmann explains “With Don’t Believe A Word, we really wanted to continue what we had done on T&C, but have the listener, and ourselves, know we put forth some effort and didn’t just go through the process again.” Songs like ‘9999′ with it’s huge almost Motorhead riff coupled with danceable hand claps, and the album closer, ‘Surrender’, a cross between the Rolling Stones, Brian Jonestown Massacre and Bob Seger demonstrate that Don’t Believe A Word takes The Clutters signature sound and adds one more layer.

While being based in Nashville may bring certain expectations to outsiders, The Clutters have managed to create a distinct sound in a city that caters to anything but. With the release of Don’t Believe A Word, The Clutters are set to start converting rock ‘n’ roll atheists with their faithful rock ‘n’ roll.